Vanguard of Destruction
by CrazyRopeDragon
Summary: Kaidan Alenko contemplates the realities of working with an infamous military legend. At first he thinks he'll barely be brushing shoulders with a monster, but as events unfold, he sees that he's in league with a much more complex individual. Emotions run high on the Normandy as the crew race against time to thwart Saren.


He had to admit it. She terrified him. He'd heard stories about Shepard; the soldier who had gotten all of her squad killed in a suicidal assault on Torfan. She was ruthless, a legend. He knew they were both assigned to the Normandy. Kaidan didn't know what to expect this woman to look like. This scary Commander Shepard. Joker was taking the Normandy out on a shake-down operation. Kaidan said he'd sit up with the helmsman, keep an eye on some of the more background functions of the ship. He hadn't had a chance to see the Commander storming into the ship. Apparently she and Anderson were close. He'd never felt this level of nerves before in his life. He was in his thirties now, this was an unreasonable way to feel! She was probably some battle hardened, scarred bitch with a stick up her butt. He was almost certain he wouldn't like her. This was only a shake-down anyways. He wouldn't be stuck with her long. His mental-babble stopped when he heard someone entering the cockpit. It was probably that Turian Spectre Nihlus again. He was very interested in the ships capabilities, but still somehow managed to insult both Joker and the ship in one breath.

But it wasn't Nihlus. It was her. Commander Jack Shepard. Whatever he had been expecting, she certainly wasn't it. She was of an average height, probably as tall as him. She looked to be one of those well-toned, tank-like women, who'd knock you on your ass and expect you to say 'thank you'. Her skin was quite dark, not as dark as Anderson's, but she looked just that shade darker than sun kissed. There was but a single scar on her surprisingly stunning skin, cutting down over her right eye. And her eyes... They were like sunsets. That was the only, albeit ridiculous, way he could describe them. They were that bright amber colour that seemed fiery, as though they would glow in the dark. She must have had impossibly long hair, for it was all piled atop her head in an orderly gathering. Straw coloured hair matched with her gorgeous dark skin... It was striking. Truly striking. He even had a moment to take in her full lips, which she had coloured a dark shade. All in all, she was exceptional. Exceptionally beautiful, exceptionally poised, and exceptionally intimidating. Shit. Well this just made her ten times harder to hate. He knew it was shallow, but she was beautiful. It was hard to think that this woman would be capable of half the cruelty he'd heard in all the rumours and stories.

He remembered his place just in time as she looked around. He shot to his feet and saluted. He didn't need to make a bad impression on a ranking officer. She frowned at him, her gaze reflecting someone looking at a dog with ten heads.

"Lieutenant Alenko, Ma'am!" he said, in his most professional voice. Her frown disappeared. Seems she recognised the name.

"At ease, LT." He hadn't expected that rough, worldly voice from her. He spread his legs just a little, and clasped his hands behind his back, his gaze straight ahead. "At ease, at ease. Sit down." She waved a dismissive hand in his direction. She leaned down next to Joker and stared out the window. "Joker."

"Shepard." They nodded to each other so casually. They must have known each other. Kaidan sat back down, and tried his best not to stare at the woman out of the corner of his eye. Why was his face feeling so damn hot all of a sudden? He couldn't be... He turned away, pretending to be taking note of some readings on a different screen.

"How's she handle?" Shepard asked, bringing the Lieutenant's eyes back to her face.

"Like the Prom date I never had. I could make this baby dance! Just not with me. That would be... Ow."

"As much as I do love a bit of carnage, I try to keep the ambient sound of cracking bones to a minimum. Give me a shout when we're approaching Eden Prime." She hit the back of Joker's chair once, then made to walk away."Alenko." she said, by way of a goodbye. He stuttered out a Ma'am, then buried his face in his hand.

"Wooow. That was embarrassing to watch." Joker quipped, with that mocking smirk of his.

"Shut up, Moreau." But he did have to laugh at himself. He was such an embarrassment to himself, he might as well laugh about it.

"You got the hots for Commander Grouchy? Be my guest, but you're gonna lose a hand." Joker brought the Normandy up to the Mass relay, and furrowed his brow as he concentrated on getting the correct trajectory. Kaidan observed the on-screen specs of the engine, to see how she would handle, to see if the heat would distribute properly. As they were shot through space, Kaidan wasn't surprised to see the Normandy perform to perfection. In the hands of Joker, it seemed she really could dance.

"Do you know her? What's she like? I mean... I've heard so many stories about Torfan..." Joker sat back, and let the FTL drives do the work.

"Yeah I know her. You probably think she's bloodthirsty and heartless. She gets the job done, Alenko. Then she beats herself up about it for the rest of time. She cares, LT. Cares enough to see the big picture." Kaidan thought he had quite enough food for thought. He wouldn't make any judgements about her, especially when Joker was actually serious. It had to be something to take to heart if Joker was serious for five seconds. Still. He doubted he'd have much to do with the Commander. This was only a Shake-down after all.


End file.
